Custer rally greeters go above & beyond

Published: Thursday, August 9th, 2012

Year after year they are out there waving the Custer flag and greeting arriving motorcycle riders for days during the annual rally. They are the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce frontier re-enactors and are led by chamber executive director Dave Ressler, information associate Fred Baumann and Mitch McLain who portrays Gen. George Custer. There is no community in the Black Hills, or all of South Dakota, and maybe even the nation, that so warmly welcomes motorcycle riders as does Custer.

They were out there Monday shortly after noon to welcome the hundreds of riders rolling through town on the annual Governor’s and Sturgis Mayor’s Ride. They are there every busy day during the rally in Custer. No one tells them to be out there. They simply take the initiative as they have for the past several years of greeting arriving riders. They believe it is the right and hospitable thing to do. So do many pleasantly surprised motorcycle riders.

They are out there in 90 degree weather donned in their traditional leather and wool outfits with the unfurled Custer flag and waving at riders arriving from the west and north at the busy Mt. Rushmore Road and 5th Street intersection. These members of the chamber staff, along with some volunteers, are much more than greeters. They also are great ambassadors for Custer City.

The group poses for countless photos in the taped off area of the downtown intersection. McLain estimates that he has his photo taken at least 1,000 times during the nearly two weeks of the motorcycle rally in Custer. That’s at least 1,000 memories of a great trip to the Black Hills and community of Custer that our visitors will ride away with in their cameras.

This past Monday the chamber group was joined for a short time by three young ladies from the Grand Magic Show. To say these three in their bright red and white dresses added to the festivities would be an understatement. Cameras previously tucked away in saddle bags were hastily dug out and put into action again shooting the girls and the re-enactors for more great Custer memories.

Chamber staff members are paid, but, in our opinion, go way above and beyond the call of duty or of their job descriptions. They deserve our thanks for being such great ambassadors for historical Custer City and the great state of South Dakota.

Year after year they are out there waving the Custer flag and greeting arriving motorcycle riders for days during the annual rally. They are the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce frontier re-enactors and are led by chamber executive director Dave Ressler, information associate Fred Baumann and Mitch McLain who portrays Gen. George Custer. There is no community in the Black Hills, or all of South Dakota, and maybe even the nation, that so warmly welcomes motorcycle riders as does Custer.

They were out there Monday shortly after noon to welcome the hundreds of riders rolling through town on the annual Governor’s and Sturgis Mayor’s Ride. They are there every busy day during the rally in Custer. No one tells them to be out there. They simply take the initiative as they have for the past several years of greeting arriving riders. They believe it is the right and hospitable thing to do. So do many pleasantly surprised motorcycle riders.

They are out there in 90 degree weather donned in their traditional leather and wool outfits with the unfurled Custer flag and waving at riders arriving from the west and north at the busy Mt. Rushmore Road and 5th Street intersection. These members of the chamber staff, along with some volunteers, are much more than greeters. They also are great ambassadors for Custer City.

The group poses for countless photos in the taped off area of the downtown intersection. McLain estimates that he has his photo taken at least 1,000 times during the nearly two weeks of the motorcycle rally in Custer. That’s at least 1,000 memories of a great trip to the Black Hills and community of Custer that our visitors will ride away with in their cameras.

This past Monday the chamber group was joined for a short time by three young ladies from the Grand Magic Show. To say these three in their bright red and white dresses added to the festivities would be an understatement. Cameras previously tucked away in saddle bags were hastily dug out and put into action again shooting the girls and the re-enactors for more great Custer memories.

Chamber staff members are paid, but, in our opinion, go way above and beyond the call of duty or of their job descriptions. They deserve our thanks for being such great ambassadors for historical Custer City and the great state of South Dakota.